As Vesak looms: Broad measures to tackle Matara meningitis

With the Vesak celebrations also scheduled to be held in Matara at the end of this month, Health officials in the Southern Province are on high alert, with the recent records of viral meningitis diagnosed in Deniyaya.  

Provincial Director of Health Services for the Southern Province, Dr. N.D.S. Panditharatne, responding to questions from The Daily Morning, said that discussions had been held earlier yesterday (11) between the Southern Province Governor and himself and that strict sanitation measures had been implemented in schools ahead of their reopening tomorrow (13), amid concerns over the spread of viral meningitis in several schools in the Deniyaya area of the Southern Province. 

He said that schools had been thoroughly cleaned over the past two days and that the authorities would continue to pay close attention to sanitation and preventive measures in the coming weeks as well. Dr. Panditharatne noted that special concern had arisen due to the upcoming Vesak Zone in the Matara District at the end of this month, as viral meningitis is a disease that could spread from person to person. 

He said that extensive discussions are underway regarding preventive measures that need to be implemented during the Vesak period. He further said that the health authorities had discussed the precautions that need to be taken within schools, where close person-to-person contact is common. Awareness programmes, including the display of posters inside schools, are also being implemented, while steps would be taken to maintain some spacing among the students when schools reopen.

Responding to questions, he said that unhygienic food practices and issues related to water sources had also been identified as priority concerns. He noted that water chlorination programmes are already underway and that the Local Government (LG) authorities had been instructed to carry out the necessary measures.

Dr. Panditharatne also noted that teachers with symptoms such as fever and vomiting had been reported, adding that the disease appeared to be spreading among adults as well.

Meanwhile, when the Southern Province Governor’s office was contacted for comment, a senior spokesperson told The Daily Morning  that emphasis had been made that special attention should be paid to the disease situation in early childhood development centres and preschools operating in the Deniyaya area. 

He said that in order to ensure the health and safety of young children, proposals were made to clean preschool premises, strictly follow daily sanitation measures, continuously monitor the health condition of children, and implement special awareness programmes for parents. It was also decided to coordinate with the relevant LG institutions and Divisional Secretariat offices to systematically carry out activities such as cleaning school and preschool premises, waste management, the maintenance of water facilities, organising community cleaning campaigns, and conducting public awareness programmes.

Source - The Morning